1. State and Local Governments Chapter 8 section 4

2. What is the purpose of state and local governments? To meet more local needs But…the national Constitution is the “supreme law of the land”!

3. State Constitutions Each state has its own constitution to lay out its principles and the framework of the state Click here http://sites.state.pa.us/PA_Constitution.html to see Pennsylvania’s state constitutionhttp://sites.state.pa.us/PA_Constitution.html They are similar to the national Constitution – preamble, bill of rights, government with three branches

4. State Governments Powered is defined by the Constitution Services include: maintain law and order enforce criminal law protect property regulate business supervise public education provide public health and welfare programs build and maintain highways operate state parks and forests regulate the use of state owned land

5. Pennsylvania State Government Commonwealth of PA http://www.pa.gov/Pages/default.aspx Governor Tom Corbett http://www.governor.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/governo r_pa_gov/20650 http://www.governor.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/governo r_pa_gov/20650 Pennsylvania State Congress http://www.legis.state.pa.us/

6. Local Governments Power is defined by the states Services include: run public education hire or support firefighters, police and garbage collection provide sewers and water, maintain local roads and hospitals, and conduct safety inspections of buildings and restaurants water and sewage treatment plants are sometimes run by local government provide libraries, parks and other cultural/recreational facilities

7. Lansdale/Hatfield Lansdale Borough http://www.lansdale.org/ Hatfield Borough http://www.hatfieldborough.com/ Towamencin Township http://www.towamencin.org/ Hatfield Township http://www.hatfieldtownship.org/ Souderton Borough http://www.soudertonborough.org/

8. Other Federal Government sites to explore The White House http://www.whitehouse.gov/ The House of Representatives http://www.house.gov/ The Senate http://www.senate.gov/ The Supreme Court http://www.supremecourt.gov/